Rachel and Jamie’s Abbey House Gardens Wedding in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.

The Abbey House Gardens in Malmesbury was the setting for Rachel and Jamie’s big day. The couple had an intimate wedding with a small number of close friends and family. Rachel and Jamie’s bond was palpable throughout the day, they connected through their humour, silly gestures and love of their children; their guests were all left in no doubt as to how much this couple were meant to be together.

The Abbey House Gardens is a very old venue that was jammed packed full with charm. There were plenty of dark areas and I was constantly looking for light whether from the windows in the morning or from the spot and candle light that was strewn around here and there. I felt like I was on a constant hunt for light in my attempt to not resort to using flash.

This was by far the darkest venue I have photographed in, however challenging the conditions were though I found the charm and the opportunities for dramatic lighting to be a constant thrill and I loved this venue for that. In fact I would consider it to be a photographer’s dream.

There was a time when I would have run for the hills with conditions like these, however, now I embrace them and feel that the photos were better for it.

Rachel and Jamie were such a wonderful couple, they were very relaxed and simply soaked in the experience totally absorbed in each other. They have a great sense of fun and this came through in spades, from Rachel’s quirky polka dot shoes, to the mock fights over the signing of the register and the cutting of the cake.

The grounds at the Abbey House Gardens provided some excellent photographic opportunities too, there were some topiary sections providing greenery and interesting shapes. A great pond which allowed me to get some reflections of the couple by standing them near the water’s edge and using a wider lens.

This was my first wedding of 2017, I am so excited and pleased to kick off the new wedding season with such a great wedding, I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for me.